MacVac Trial, 7th shot

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For those following my little clinical trial, I figure it's time for an update. I had my 7th shot on Wednesday. They rotate these shots between my two thighs and my right arm, my left arm is a 'no-stick' arm. So far, my most consistant side effect to my vaccine has been a headache, which I did NOT have this time. My site reactions have consistantly gotten worse with each shot, and the reaction on my arm this time was pretty fast and continued to get worse till about this morning, but is much better tonight.

This month's reaction has given me a new empathy for those who suffer from lymphadema. My arm was swollen from shoulder to below my elbow. Last night was fairly painful, with the swelling around my elbow giving me the most problems, making it very difficult to bend my arm without pain. I'm still swollen tonight, but it's not painful anymore, and I think the itching has stopped.

I still feel like the side effects of this trial are very mild, especially when compared with other treatments and trials.

Hard to believe but I only have ONE shot left. I go back for skin tests and shots next month from the 8th the the 10th and then I am done with all of these trips to California. I feel very confident about making it through the trial without any recurrences.

This month it's been 2 yrs since I advanced to stage IV and, needless to say, I am thrilled to still be NED. I was NED for 11 months before starting the vaccine, so I guess there will never be any way to know if my continued good status is a result of the trial, or just my own good luck

Thanks very much for the update. I've been wondering how you are doing, and things seem to be going pretty well. The trial and being NED thing sound really good too! Your spirit and humor are always a big part of your inspiration to the rest of us, so keep going forward and keep us posted now and then.

Happy to see you're doing so well on this trial, despite the swelling. When I was on GM-CSF, my shot site would swell up too, so I know what you're going through. But like you said, pretty mild side effects compared to others. I just had my 3rd ipi infusion on Nov 4th, and no side effects for me so far. I hope your upcoming scans show continued NED.

Happy to see you're doing so well on this trial, despite the swelling. When I was on GM-CSF, my shot site would swell up too, so I know what you're going through. But like you said, pretty mild side effects compared to others. I just had my 3rd ipi infusion on Nov 4th, and no side effects for me so far. I hope your upcoming scans show continued NED.

Thanks for the update, Dian. I am so happy that you are almost done and more importantly, still NED!!! :) Sometimes, we don't know why...especially when we go into a treatment NED. Many times I am asked how I have survived so long as a Stage IV patient.....I just don't know that answer. If I did, I would be sure to tell everyone.